How to Make a Macrame Hammock

Macrame is a form of craftwork similar to sewing or knitting, which uses a series of knots to bind rope or cord together. This simple method can be used to create a multitude of different projects, from handbags and jewelry to furniture and house decorations. Since a basic hammock consists of a few ropes, tied together with knots, making a macrame hammock is an ideal project for the macrame enthusiast.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Two poles, strong enough to hold the weight of the intended hammock occupant
• 1,280 yards of strong rope or cord, plus a little extra, slip proof, to keep knots in place
• Two eyebolts (a bolt with a looped head to hang the rope on)

Make a Basic Macrame Hammock

1. Mount your eyebolts on the wall and hang one of the poles from them with a couple of feet of rope for each side, just above eye level, parallel to the floor.

2. Cut 40 lengths of rope, 32 yards each.

3. Fold the first rope in half. Drape the loop over the pole, bring the two ends of the rope through the loop and tighten to make a secure knot that will hold the rope in place on the pole.

4. Roll each dangling rope end into its own little ball around your hand, to prevent them from getting tangled together.

5. Repeat steps three and four with the remaining rope lengths, spacing your knots out evenly over the center of the pole, leaving one foot free on either side. You should have a total of 40 knots and 80 balled up strands of rope.

6. Take your first four strands of rope (from the first two knots). From left to right, we'll call them strands A, B, C and D.

7. Drape strand D over B and C. Bring strand A over D on the left side, then under B and C and finally finishing over D on the right side.

8. Bring strand A over D on the left side, then under B and C, finishing over D on the right side.

9. Pull strands A and D tight, making sure to keep B and C straight while you do.

10. Bring strand A back to its original position by sliding it under B and C. Bring D back to its original position by sliding it over A, under B and C and over A again on the other side.

11. Pull A and D tight again, keeping B and C straight. The result is similar to a square knot.

12. Repeat steps six through 11 for each set of two knots along the length of the pole. This is the top row of knots, so keep them similarly sized and even with each other.

13. For the second row, repeat steps six through 12, but stagger the knots by skipping the first two strands. You should have two strands left over on the other end.

14. Make the third row the same was as the first, using all the strands. Continue your way down the length of all the ropes in this way, remembering to stagger the knots by skipping the first two strands every other row.

15. Attach the ends of the hammock to the other pole with sturdy double half hitch knots.

16. To mount the hammock, remove your two eyebolts from the wall in which you mounted them and place them, opposite one another, in whatever spot you wish your hammock to be. Between two trees, two walls, two sturdy poles . . . just make sure it's somewhere that can hold your weight.

Tips & Warnings

• Poles should each be about two feet longer than the desired width of the hammock.

• You can test the strength of the poles by mounting them and doing chin-ups on them.

• Cotton or hemp ropes work best for hammock making.

• Nylon cord will not easily hold a firm knot.

Resources

• More tips on making hammocks